We sat in silence for a while until he suddenly seemed to just snap out of it. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, rising to his feet. When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with determination and anger. I stood and faced him, " Time to train again?" He nodded, returning to the machine. It didn't really seem as cool or awesome as it had at first. It was neat and all, but it had been used to torture my friend; was instrumental in Xemnas' attempts to break him.
" You were taught all the basics so now it's just up to you to learn how to use it all. I'm going to put it in swarm sequence." I gave him a blank look. " Things are going to come at you in swarms and you have to defeat them. Each wave will get more difficult until you lose a fight or are hit in what would be a fatal blow. I'll keep it on beginner so it shouldn't be too hard."
" Sounds like a zombie game or something." Like one of those games where it was all about survival. The waves start out simple, only a few weak enemies, but get harder and harder until the final boss.
" Guess it's similar." He still seemed out of it, making me frown.
" Why don't you come train with me?" What better way to cheer up your friend than a game? " We could compete." He paused to think about it, meaning it actually was being considered. " Come on, it'll be fun!"
With a glance around he sighed. " Sure, why not?" Tapping several keys he came to join me as the door slid open to let us in. " It's set to automatically shut off after twenty waves or when both of us are unable to continue." I nodded, excitement running through me.
In a flash of light we were in what looked like a huge city with towering buildings. The sky was dark and stars shone brightly overhead, the moon giving off a faint, pink glow and shaped like a heart. I glanced over at Roxas and was surprised to see him in his Organization cloak, his hood up and shadowing his face, Oath Keeper and Oblivion in his hands. He turned his head, twirling the deadly looking blades around his hand and looking every bit of an assassin. Looking down at myself, I noticed I was in different cloths too; I had on baggy black pants that ended below my knee and a red shirt with an unzipped, black jacket over top. Yellow straps decorated the clothes and I had big, red pockets on the other side. I raised an eyebrow at Roxas but he just shrugged, looking weirdly at my hand.
Looking down once more I realized I was holding a huge key. It's hilt was gold and the blade silver and ended in a sharp looking piece of metal jutting out from the end to the side, the ends making the shape of a crown. " Why do I have a giant key?"
" Hell if I know." Roxas shrugged.
" Is it just random or something?"
" It picks what you're most compatible with out of an archive of possible weapons. Why you got that one is a mystery to me. I got it too my first time in here too but apparently I had been the only one to ever get it." He looked like he was about to say something else but changed his mind.
I frowned at that. Why did we get this thing out of all possible weapons. " Why didn't you get it this time?"
" Because it's programmed to give me these now. Part of being a number; you get your own special weapons." He twirled Oblivion around his hand absentmindedly as he bounced on the top of his feet, shifting his weight back and forth between the two. His eyes scanned the area, searching for the first signs of the enemies. I followed suit, crouching down slightly and wrapping both my hands around the key's handle.
We stood in tense silence, both of us on high alert, searching, but not finding anything. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I whipped my head to see what it was. A shadow slid along the ground, darting from side to side but rapidly heading in my direction. It circled me, making me spin around to follow it but also making me dizzy. I paused, trying to get my bearings back, when it struck me on the back, pain lacing down my spine. " Sora!" Roxas shouted, sounding like he was about to rush over to help, but I lashed out behind me, impaling the shadowy creature.
" W-What was that thing?" I stuttered, watching closely for more.
" It's a Neoshadow, but I don't understand why they are the beginning wave; it's on trainee level…" He muttered the ending making me just barely able to catch what he said. I was about to ask what level they were supposed to be on, but another one caught my attention. It was trying to sneak up on Roxas. I opened my mouth to shout a warning, but he didn't seem to need it. He jumped up just as it popped out of the ground to attack him, flipping over it while striking its head with Oath Keeper. It collapsed and dissolved into what looked like smoke. That… was freaking awesome.
More and more started appearing, making me unable to comment or watch how he fought. I needed to focus on the waves of these Neoshadow creatures or I'd be done for on the first levels. After dozens of these annoying shadows, other monsters started appearing. Really these things look like they're were taken right out a video game and if they actually were I really want to play it. They look so cool but at the same time they're pretty tough.
Whenever a new enemy appeared Roxas made sure to name it for me. So far we had faced the Neoshadows, Dancers- the human looking things that skated all over the place- and Sorcerers-creatures that were in long, white cloaks that also resembled armor that seemed to use magic. That seemed rather fitting to me since they kept putting up these weird barriers of squares that also attacked. And the last one Roxas called a Samurai; it was also white and had two swords on its back that it wielded very well. Roxas, however, proved he was the better dual blade wielder as he effortlessly took them down.
" What wave are we on?" I asked, already tired and out of breath.
He looked at his wrist at what looked like a white watch. " Seven."
" You're joking! You call this beginner?!" I shouted. These things were difficult! I know we had to have taken down dozens by now and we still have fourteen waves left? There's no way I'm going to make it through this.
" Sora, can you cover me for a few minutes?"
" Uh… I don't know… this is getting pretty tough…" I'm not going to lie and then get us both in trouble.
" I only need a little bit; just distract them when the wave starts." He backed up against one of the walls of the numerous sky scrapers rising up over the town. I heard shuffling to my left, my attention immediately shifted to it and away from Roxas who was doing something on that watch thing.
Seconds felt like minutes and minutes like hours. Every swing, every strike, sapping my strength more and more. My muscles screamed for rest, for me to stop fighting. Dancers and Sorcerers teamed up against me, landing heavy blows, but I somehow managed to beat them. I can barely feel my arms anymore so I'm not sure how it is that I'm managing to keep fighting.
A shriek above me grabbed my attention, my gaze snapping to the dragon like creature rushing down from the sky at me. Panicked, I looked for a place to dodge and hide in but a Sorcerer blocked me in and two Dancers circled around me. All I can think about is how I'm about to die. It didn't cross my mind that I was in a program and couldn't actually. My only defense was to raise the strange Keyblade over my head and tense for the impact of the dragon's blade into my skin.
Suddenly, my ears were bombarded with loud roars of sound. It sounded like shattering glass, blood curdling screams, and roars of anger all mixed together into a deafening assault on my ear drums. I fell to my knees, hands over my ears trying to protect them. I clenched my eyes shut, still waiting for death. More of those horrible noises sounded, but no pain came, so I hesitantly looked up. What I saw was Roxas slaughtering the hordes of creatures trying to attack, seeming to dance around them. He was like a blur, ducking, dodging, weaving in and out of their reach and delivering powerful blows before they could react.
Finally the wave seemed to end, the creatures thinning out until none remained. Roxas walked back over to me, only slightly out of breath, but a deep cut on his cheek gushing blood steadily. " The system has been hacked. I need you to stay out of sight until this is over." He offered me a hand and pulled me to my feet. I stumbled a bit, my knees threatening to give out.
" What do you mean hacked?" I looked up at him tiredly.
" The difficulty was changed after we came inside. My guess would be that Xemnas noticed we were using the system and is trying to keep us in here while he comes to kill us." Roxas' voice was grave.
" What level are we on then?"
" It's in the last set. Not the most difficult but close and with the strongest enemies."
Well that's great. So I'm supposed to be on trainee level because this is the most combat I've ever been faced with and now we have to fight some of the strongest creatures in the system. " Roxas we can't die in here, can we?"
" No, the system can't kill you, but it can do nerve damage. If you die in the system, you won't in real life, but you won't be the same for a while either." I tightened my grip on the key in my hand. That's great; die here, you get to live, but with nerve damage. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure that's serious, but I can't let that stop me from helping.
" I'm going to keep fighting."
" No, Sora, you're going to go over there-" he gestured to a space between two of the sky scrapers, "- and lay low while I get us out of here as soon as possible."
" No, I'm going to fight with you to make sure you don't get yourself killed." I know that Roxas is strong and an assassin and everything, but there's limits to what one person can do and we're only on wave nine now. I just got my friend back, I'm not about to let him get himself hurt like this.
" Sora, it's dangerous. This isn't a game anymore."
" I know that. I-" I was cut off as a Dancer skated into view, speeding towards us. Roxas must have noticed something else, because he lunged passed me with Oathkeeper. I followed suit, jumping forward with this strange key and piercing the creature right through its middle. Two more appeared accompanied by a Sorcerer who fired an attack at me. I dodged to the side, throwing the blade at it. The key sailed through the air, twirling like a boomerang, and struck its mark, cleaving the Sorcerer in two. I momentarily thought about how stupid it was for me to throw my only weapon before I felt it in my hand again in a bright flash that I caught out of the corner of my eye.
I didn't give it any thought, instead dashing forward to kill the two Dancers still loitering about. They were incredibly quick on their feet, but I managed. A red laser shined passed me, moving rapidly before landing on me. Confused I looked around, trying to find its source, when I felt something slam into me and a sound similar to that of a gunshot or laser sounded. I fell, the breath slightly knocked out of me and turned to counter, but immediately stopped when I noticed Roxas standing over me, dual blades held crossed in front of him.
" The red beam of light is a sniper pointer. If it has you in its sights for longer than four seconds it will fire a crystal that acts just like a bullet. If you can deflect it, it's like a one shot and the Sniper dies."
" Thanks." I smiled slightly. No more enemies were coming so I took it that the wave was done. " Looks like you're going to win." I commented as he once again helped me to my feet.
" What do you mean?"
" I only took out three things that wave and I know there was a lot more than that."
He smirked at me. " Guess you're right." His expression became serious again. " We're almost half way through. After this, three more types will come out. I'm pretty sure there are Berserkers who are big and bulky and can't be hit when they go into sword form to attack. If they do, avoid it because it can easily break bones. There's also Assassins and Gamblers although, in my opinion, they're not that tough."
" Is anything?"
He laughed slightly, the smile peeking back through. " The berserkers are pretty tricky."
He was right, though, they weren't too bad and the Berserkers were a pain. I got hit once on my left arm when I tried to dodge and I can't feel or move that limb any more. I fought as hard as I could but by wave fifteen I couldn't keep it up. A Dragoon swept in while I was fighting two Gamblers and a Berserker, almost cutting me in half but I moved at the last moment by sheer luck. I fell then, not able to get up, not even able to care as the exhaustion decided to take hold then as well. I didn't need to worry though, Roxas was there in a flash, killing them off and dragging me off to the side.
" Sora? Sora! Hey, can you hear me?" I blinked tiredly, my vision swimming and eyelids heavy, barely registering him shaking my right arm. I nodded, my head feeling like it weighed more than it should have. " Just stay here, ok. Don't move." I managed another nod, almost not noticing the worry in my friend's face.
I did as I was told, too tired and in too much pain to move even if I wanted to. So I watched as Roxas's blurry figure darted around, striking down foes in swift, powerful strikes everywhere he went. The swarms were getting massive, doubling with each wave. The enemies seemed like they were never ending, but eventually they would thin out only to multiply again quicker and quicker with each successful wave.
I must have blacked out at some point because the next thing I know Roxas is shaking my shoulder roughly again, shouting at me. I blinked up at him, confused as to what was happening. He was out of breath, sweat dripping off his chin and another cut crossing the one that had previously been made, making an X. " What?" My words slurred slightly as my tongue refused to move right, feeling fuzzy and dry.
" This is the last level. There will be one battle and then we're done. I need you to start trying to be able to move. When we get out, your body will want to go into shock at the sudden release from most of the pain and exhaustion. If you begin moving now, it will ease the stress." So move now while I'm in pain and want to just sleep for days because I'm so tired and that will help me feel better? The logic here seems flawed. My skepticism must has showed because he sighed and continued talking. " I know it sounds stupid, it's a tolerance thing. You're not supposed to get to this level without being able to cope with the pain and move passed it. It's to train the mind to ignore it and the body to deal with it quickly."
I still didn't get it, but decided not to argue, instead I began moving my stiff limbs. They screamed in protest, making me clench my eyes shut, but I forced myself to continue. The ground under me shook, the buildings themselves groaning as the boss appeared. I opened my eyes, gazing at the towering figure before me. It was all white and looked like it was in pointed, plated armor, a strange symbol on its head. It looked like it had two blue scarves on, the four ends flying around behind it. Its arms almost brushed the ground despite its monstrous height.
" W-What is that thing?"
" Twilight Thorn. It's big and powerful, but not the most difficult. It's one of the first bosses on the lower sets although here it's had a stat boost." He stood in front of me, dropping into a battle stance with both blades held to the side but Oblivion more behind him and Oathkeeper held more protectively in front. His feet were spread apart, his body slightly turned to the side and his weight resting on the top of his feet, ready for action.
" Can you take it alone?" I asked, worried now. I felt so useless! For the past several waves I've just been sitting here, unable to help at all. He didn't look like he particularly needed it, but I still felt bad about it.
" I'll be fine." The beast gave out a monstrous roar, moving towards Roxas who leapt to meet it. They clashed loudly, Roxas holding firm against it despite the fact that it should have easily brushed him aside. I turned away, focusing more on making my protesting body stand and ignoring the pain shooting through my limbs and back.
A light flashed, nearly blinding me for a moment and drawing my attention back to the fight. " Roxas!" I shouted, horrified. He was stuck in midair by black, white, and grey wisps that clung to both his arms and legs, making him incapable of moving. He didn't seem nearly as concerned about his predicament as I did but I didn't pay attention to that. Instead I tried harder to get myself to move, which I did, although much slower than I was aiming for.
It was pointless, however, because as soon as the boss got close he flipped around the bonds on his left arm, striking the beast across the face with Oathkeeper and sending it spinning wildly backwards. Its arms shot out, grabbing him roughly in both hands. His face contorted slightly with pain before he was tossed up into the air. I took another step forward, worried for my friend, but once again he managed to flip himself around and land a powerful blow to its head. It spun and fell onto its stomach, slithering away up the side of one of the skyscrapers and out of sight.
Roxas landed on his feet but immediately fell to one knee, clutching his side in pain. " Hey! You alright?" I called, taking yet another step away from my safety zone. He didn't respond, instead climbing to his feet and looking for where the enemy had disappeared to. Twilight Thorn reappeared, seeming to fall out of the sky and causing the ground beneath us to lurch violently. It stood between me and Roxas, towering over us, and began attacking my friend again. It didn't seem to even realize I was behind it, all of its attention focused on the blonde fighting it.
I grabbed the Keyblade from where it laid on the ground beside me, cautiously moving closer. When I was within a dozen yards, I charged at it, hoping to land a surprise attack and end the battle more quickly. Roxas saw me, he expression blooming into that of panic, but I didn't have time to wonder why before the Twilight Thorn spun around rapidly, swatting me aside and sending me crashing into a nearby building. It didn't crumble or give in the slightest, my body just slammed into the hard, merciless surface. My vision swam and black dots consumed many parts of it, making it impossible to see what was going on.
I blinked hard, hoping they would go away and the world would stop spinning. It worked for a moment, my vision focusing enough to see Roxas jump to the boss's eyelevel and deliver a flurry of blows to its head and send it reeling once again. He didn't stop when it began to fall. No, the blows continued to rain upon the boss, Oathkeeper and Oblivion mere blurs to me, moving swiftly and powerfully as Roxas wielded them. He moved smoothly, each attack merging with another, him spinning and jumping around as he landed blows in swift secession.
The world swayed, everything tilting at an unnatural angle, before blackness invaded my vision again. I felt my body slide down from my sitting position until I was laying on the cold, rough concrete. I don't remember anything else until Roxas was shaking me awake again, sounding rather frantic this time as he tried to get me to respond. It took several tries, but finally I managed a weak humming noise, my eyes opening slightly.
" Good, you're ok." He sighed in relief, hand falling from my shoulder. I wouldn't exactly call this ok. I can't feel most of my body and the parts I can hurt like hell. My head is throbbing and my vision still has black spots dancing around.
" Is it…over?"
" Yeah, the sequence should end in a few moments." I noticed his voice sounded raspy, like it hurt for him to talk, and made a more conscious effort to survey him for wounds. The X shaped cut on his face had stopped bleeding but had also began to turn purple. He was gripping his side again as he crouched in front of me and I began to wonder why.
" Are… you ok?" I wish I didn't sound so weak but a slight, winded whisper was all I could manage.
" I'll be fine when the program shuts off." He coughed lightly into his hand, eyes clenching in pain as blood dripped from his fingers and dripped down his chin. " Boss had one hell of a grip." He stated with a breathy laugh, wiping the blood away. " Think it broke some ribs."
" And those will heal?" My strength was starting to come back. I wonder if it's because I've rested some now or if the program is shutting off slower this time to ease the shock.
" Yeah, unless you're killed there's no physical damage done to you. I'm physically fine but my mind thinks that I'm injured so the programming makes it appear and feel as if I am." I guess the only real damage they can do in here is psychological then. Which can be just as bad, I suppose. The city around us was fading slowly back into the grid work of panels and I noticed that as it did the pain and exhaustion left with it. Glancing at Roxas I saw that the cut on his cheek began to heal as well, looking like it was already weeks old rather than minutes. It wasn't long until everything was gone and I felt about seventy percent; my muscles ached and I could definitely go for a nap right about now.
Roxas began walking towards the door with me unconsciously following before he paused and turned to face me. " Stay in here while I check to make sure no one is here, ok?" I opened my mouth to argue but he cut me off, " Just, please, listen this time. If Xemnas is here he won't hesitate to kill you, but he won't kill me."
" How can you be so sure?"
" If he was, he would have while I was in a coma. My doctor was a number and could have easily killed me without leaving any sort of evidence." Again, that thought really freaked me out. I thought hospitals were supposed to be safe?
Regardless of how much I wanted to argue with him I nodded, not able to ignore the pleading look in his eyes. " But if you're not back in five minutes I'm coming out there."
" Deal. And here, take this. If the program turns on for some reason hit this button-" he held that white watch device in front of me, pointing to the screen. " This is the kill switch. I've set it to where you should be able to override any external sources, including the controls outside. If it won't end you should be able to set it to a different setting or place by hitting this." He pointed to another part of the screen. I nodded as I took the watch, strapping it snuggly around my wrist.
" Why didn't you do that before?" I couldn't help but ask.
" Because this is only really useful for the person wearing it and there's only one here. It acts like a failsafe for your mind. If you don't have one a sudden shut down, especially when you've been hurt in the system, can cause serious damage."
" Oh." So if I hadn't been in there with him he could have left the program at any time.
Satisfied with that, he exited the virtual training room, leaving me alone to think and worry. What if Xemnas was here? Roxas didn't have his blades and that was the leader, someone he had already said was powerful. He wouldn't stand a chance. And what Roxas said made me wonder; why hadn't Xemnas just killed him when he was unable to defend himself? Roxas and Axel had wiped out what he had spent years building up and yet they were both alive. If he was really so powerful, why hadn't he killed them? Was there something else he needed Roxas for? Some plan that we didn't know of?
Think, Sora! I've got so many small bits of information and I need to try to piece them together. There has to be something I'm missing! Roxas was recruited into Organization XIII after Xemnas learned, unintentionally through Axel, that he and I were friends. He then forced him into it in order to get information from us—well my father, specifically. I can remember him becoming increasingly interested in my dad's research after he had begun hanging out with all of them. Even began to seem desperate after a while to gain more of my dad's knowledge. Then there had been that break in… which was probably Roxas now that I think about it.
Anyway, why would Ansem want my dad's research so badly? Now I really wished I'd paid more attention whenever he was discussing it! I know it had something to do with hearts and a place called Kingdom Hearts, but I can't remember anything else really. There had to be something that Xemnas wanted to get his hands on at all costs and we had to make sure we got it first. Dad should be home from his business trip tomorrow, maybe we could figure it out then. I'd have to talk to Roxas about it first and get his opinion and figure out if he really did break into our house to look through my dad's reports and papers.
I remember clearly waking up and nothing at all had been broken or had seemed misplaced. All except one thing; my dad's research journal. He had left it on his desk the night before after ripping out and burning several pages. The next morning it was gone without a trace and no evidence to support that there had been a robbery despite my dad's claims that someone must have taken it. It makes sense now if it had been Roxas. If he could kill people and be that horribly injured yet still leave behind no forensic evidence, he could steal a book from my house.
A sudden thump against the door pulled me from my thoughts and I looked at it curiously. Was that my cue to come out? I figured he'd just open up the door from the control panel outside but I could be wrong. Still I waited and silence greeted me. After a few moments I shrugged, about to go back to my musings when the door slid open. I remained still, worried suddenly that maybe it wouldn't be Roxas that opened it. My fears, however, we unneeded as my friend walked over and motioned for me to come on.
" All clear?"
" Not quite but I handled it." I was going to ask what he meant but then I noticed about a dozen people lying unconscious on the floor in random places around the room. Each one was dressed in a long pale grey cloak with hoods that hung low and came to a point close to the nose and high collars. The space left for sight looked disturbingly like a large, gaping grin. The same symbol that had been on the Twilight Thorn was sewn into the top of the hood as well. " Those are what we call Dusks and if they're here then Xemnas can't be far behind. He knows they won't be enough to take me out so we need to hurry."
" Do you have another one of those teleporter things?" That would be really handy right about now. And not having to walk all the way back to his house is definitely an added bonus.
" No, I don't. I left my extras in your room. Come on we need to get out of here." he grabbed my wrist and dragged me behind him as he ran to a door to the far right of the one we had used to get in here. Roxas was limping slightly, I noted with concern, but didn't say anything about it. There was a keypad beside the door on the wall in which Roxas quickly punched in a number and ripped the door open before taking off at a quick run down the corridor. I struggled a little to keep up and not stumble due to him literally dragging me after him. Not to mention the walls I almost ran into because of the sudden, sharp turns he made. It took only a minute or two and we reached a set of stairs, Roxas releasing his hold on me and bounding up them three at a time.
I hurried after him only to pause as I watched. He quickly punched in the code but then took a deep breath and held it, leaving my heavy breathing the only sound to be heard. As he exhaled he slowly turned the knob, making almost no noise at all before suddenly swinging it open and sidestepping a blade that was thrust towards him. Without missing a beat he turned, hitting the attacker's wrist with his elbow, forcing him to release his weapon into Roxas's waiting hand. Before the man had the chance to reel back in pain or shock, the end of the sword was slammed into his stomach, forcing him to double over. Roxas ducked under him and stepped around, kicking him in the back and sending the Dusk falling down the stairs and crashing limply to the bottom.
Spinning quickly he threw the weapon, its blade imbedding itself into a tree opposite the door and capturing the attention of the three Dusks passed the door. Roxas made quick work of them, leaving each unconscious on the ground. " Where are we?" I asked as I looked around at the trees towering around us. We hadn't run that far had we? So why were we in a forest?
" On the outskirts of Twilight Town, in the forest surrounding that abandoned mansion." I exited the door and glanced back at it, noticing that it looked like this was just a random little shack in the middle of the woods.
" How did we get all the way out here? Weren't we on the other side of the Town?"
" That door is… special. It can take you to anywhere that we have an access point, like this shack. We should be relatively safe now because by the time we can be tracked it'll be too late."
" Why do they have all this cool, high tech stuff that nobody knows has even been invented?" It's kind of getting ridiculous how advanced they are. I've never heard of anyone else having virtual training rooms or teleportation doorways. Why are these not anywhere else? Granted that virtual room can be used for very, very messed up things, but what about all the possibilities gaming wise? It could totally be programmed so that things like that can't happen.
" Being a multimillionaire allows that." He shrugged, gesturing for me to follow him. " We need a safe place to hide…"
" Why not go to my house? My mom's already worried and my dad should be home tomorrow." I noticed that Roxas stilled as the words left my mouth but I continued anyway. " We can ask him about his research so we can figure out what Xemnas wanted."
" You're dad's coming home? Where did he go?"
" Some convention thing, I don't remember exactly. He left a few days before I found you unconscious."
Roxas nodded, " Then we need to get to your house. Xemnas could be waiting to take him hostage to get the information he wanted. If he is, it'd be better if we were there."
I gulped, not really thinking about that. He very well could be lying in wait for my dad to get home. If he got to him and my mom before we got there….
Some of my inner turmoil must have shown on my face because Roxas smiled, punching me lightly in the shoulder, " Don't worry, Sora, I've got your back. He won't lay a hand on him."
I smiled back, " Yeah."